HOT CORNER

1 PRO FOOTBALL:

The NFL will play two games on Christmas Day this year even though the holiday falls on a Wednesday. The league will schedule the four teams to play Saturday in Week 16 ahead of the games Dec. 25, so it’ll be similar to teams playing on a Thursday after Sunday games. Three games last Christmas averaged 29.1 million viewers. Also, the NFL announced two exclusive streaming games. The first regular-season game in South America, which will be in Brazil on Friday, Sept. 6, will be streamed on Peacock. And Amazon’s Prime Video, which is the home of“Thursday Night Football,”again will get a wild-card playoff game.

2 PRO BASEBALL:

Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and the Colorado Rockies have finalized a seven-year, $63.5 million contract, a deal that includes a team option for 2031 that, if exercised, would boost the agreement to $84 million over eight seasons. Tovar made his big league debut Sept. 22, 2022, and last season became the youngest Rockies player to start on opening day at 21 years, 240 days. He hit .253 with 15 homers, 73 RBIs and 11 stolen bases last season.

3 PRO BASKETBALL:

The NBA has opened an investigation into Toronto two-way player Jontay Porter amid gambling allegations. Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic says he learned of the probe shortly before the team’s game on Monday night. ESPN first reported the investigation, which it said included Porter’s performance in games Jan. 26 and March 20. In both of those games, Porter did not come close to hitting the prop-wager lines for points, rebounds and 3-pointers that bettors could play. Porter didn’t play for the Raptors on Monday against Brooklyn.

4 PRO SOCCER:

Major League Soccer and its referees announced a seven-year labor contract, ending a 37-day lockout that led to the use of replacement officials. The Professional Referee Organization and the Professional Soccer Referees Association said they ratified an agreement reached last week that runs until Jan. 31, 2031. The PSRA has about 260 members. Replacement officials were used in the first five weeks of the season, drawing some criticism.